Sean "Diddy" Combs’ legal team rested their case Tuesday following a brief 20-minute presentation, concluding their defense in the ongoing federal sex trafficking trial. Image: by Mark Von Holden/Invision/AP, File
(The Post News)- Sean “Diddy” Combs’ legal team rested their case on Tuesday after presenting roughly 20 minutes of arguments in his ongoing sex trafficking trial. The defense’s brief presentation came after nearly seven weeks of testimony and arguments led by federal prosecutors in New York. Prosecutors wrapped up their case Tuesday afternoon.
Mr. Combs also told the court he would not be taking the stand in his trial, saying, “It’s my decision with my lawyers” not to testify, he told the judge.
Sean “Diddy” Combs has pleaded not guilty to charges of sex trafficking, racketeering, and transportation for prostitution. He faces a potential life sentence if convicted.
On Tuesday, speaking in court for the first time in weeks, Combs told Judge Arun Subramanian that he was “doing an excellent job.”
“I want to tell you thank you,” the rapper told the judge.
Prosecutors have accused Mr. Combs of using his celebrity status and business ventures to run a criminal operation involved in sex trafficking and covering up illegal acts. The government presented over 30 witnesses during their case.
The defense did not call any witnesses but introduced several text messages as evidence, including exchanges between Mr. Combs and his former girlfriends, singer Casandra Ventura, and another witness who testified under the pseudonym Jane.
Mitchell Epner, a New York lawyer and former prosecutor, noted that defense teams often face challenges when deciding whether to present fact witnesses in court.
During the defense’s presentation, attorneys read aloud a text message from Jane to Mr. Combs, in which she said, “I always have fun” during their “freak-offs,” referring to what she described as “hotel nights.”
The brief defense case followed a motion filed by Mr. Combs’ legal team requesting the court to acquit him, arguing that the prosecution had failed to prove the charges, including sex trafficking and racketeering.
Attorney Alexandra Shapiro argued that the women at the center of the case were capable individuals who had the freedom to leave, offering insight into the defense’s likely approach during closing arguments set for Thursday and Friday.
“Mr. Combs was regrettably violent, but domestic violence is not sex trafficking,” Ms. Shapiro said.
Meanwhile, prosecutors have maintained that Mr. Combs coerced his former partners into non-consensual sex acts through a combination of drugs, violence, and manipulation.
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